On The Other Side
by Insomniac Jaki
Summary: [Yusuke has an AU past. Shounenai. Vote for pairings.] Mostly Yusuke centered. Warnings: Angsty, confusing, lunguage, other stuff that will be revealed in time.R&R.
1. Prologue: From The Past And Koenma

**_+On The Other Side+_**

**_+Prologue: From The Past And Koenma+_**

"_There are three Light worlds –Makai, Reikai, and Ningenkai- and three Shadow worlds –Iakam, Iakier, and Iaknegnin. Makai-Light Demon World. Reikai-Light Spirit World. Ningenkai-Light Human World. Iakam-Shadow Demon World. Iakier-Shadow Spirit World. Iaknegnin-Shadow Human World. The Shadow Worlds are a horrible place to be a youkai. Youkai are slaves for the humans, and are disgraced everywhere. Some are even raped. Spells are used to keep their powers under control._

"_The Shadow Worlds' ruler, Amneok, rules with an iron fist, literally. His hand was cut off and it was replaced by a special metal that allows him to move as if he has a real hand. No one knows how Amneok came to be ruler. Some say he killed his own father, Amne, and took his place on the throne, whilst others claim he has always been the ruler. Whatever the case, the three worlds are in chaos and no one can stop Amneok's evil tyranny. _

"_Three years ago, the Iakier Rebels created a revolt –called the Demonic Rebellion- and almost won. (Amneok lost his hand during the rebellion.) But, after Amneok pulled out his secret weapon, the Rebels lost, and where forced to go into hiding. Few know what the "secret weapon" is, and those who do are either working for Amneok, or are dead. Amneok has spent two of those three years hunting for the Iakier Rebels, hoping to finish them off. But, after having no luck in his search, he gave up._

"_Now, every demon and _very_ few humans hope that the Iakier Rebels will some day return and overthrow the tyrannical Amnoek._

"And that's the story." The demi-god finished, closing the thick leather-bound book he was reading from. A cloud of dust arose from the book and sent him into a short coughing fit. Kurama approached him and patted him on the back lightly. "Thank you." Kurama simply nodded and returned to his spot next to Hiei. Koenma looked around at them. They were all silent, except for Yusuke.

"Jeez, toddler, if I new I was getting a history lesson I would've stayed at school," he joked. Koenma sighed in irritation. Yusuke should be taking this more seriously.

"Yusuke, this is no time for jokes! This is a _very_ serious matter!" Koenma yelled, standing up in his chair. But as he looked at Yusuke he saw that all traces of humor had already left his face. In fact, it had left the moment he had stepped into the room. He could tell something was wrong by the way even Botan had lost her cheery demeanor. The way Koenma had been tenser than ever.

"I know." He looked at Koenma with such serious eyes he knew it was true. "So… what does this have to do with us?" Yusuke asked slowly. He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger to ward off the oncoming headache; he knew Yusuke would not like this very much.

"Well, your mission is to go to the Shadow Worlds, find the Iakier Rebels, and stop Amneok-" he said, but was cut off by Hiei, who had been silent for the duration of the little meeting.

"How long has Amneok ruled?" he demanded. Koenma sighed, knowing he would really get hell if he answered. But, reluctantly, he did.

"He has ruled for thousands of years." He flinched when Hiei growled and Yusuke pushed his face right in his. _Here it comes. _He prepared himself.

"**_WHAT?" _**Yusuke yelled angrily. _"They've been suffering for thousands of years and you choose _**now **_to act?_ What's going on here, Koenma? Why is it more important now than it was thousands of years ago? All of those youkai were suffering and you didn't give a damn then! Why do you care now?" When he was done his cheeks were tinged red from anger and he has panting slightly. Koenma could clearly see the rage in Yusuke's eyes and sighed. The others where staring at Yusuke. He normally never acted like this and Koenma knew they wanted to know what was wrong.

"You don't understand, Yusuke," Koenma said sadly. "I couldn't act. It was impossible. I could never find a way into the Shadow Worlds. We've looked everywhere and found nothing. Only recently has this book been discovered, along with the map leading to the Shadow Gate. That's the entrance into the Shadow Worlds."

"Where did you get that book, then?" Kuwabara asked. The other members of the Reikai Tantai nodded, also curious about that little fact.

"I found it yesterday, along with a note and a body." Their eyes all widened. "It was horrible. His body was all bloody and scratched up –we assume he was attacked by demons. He was actually still alive when I found him outside my door. But by the time the Reikai doctors got here, he was dead. He said to me: 'I must warn you!' His voice was very hard to understand. His voice box was almost ripped out, but was missed by almost three centimeters. Anyways, he also said: 'Please listen! Amneok wants to take over the Light Worlds! He's going to use the…'" Koenma trailed off, becoming silent.

"'The…'? 'The' what, Koenma?" Kurama asked, wanting him to continue. He was very curious and Youko was having a field day. It was all very puzzling and kitsune youkais love puzzles.

"That was all he said." Koenma replied. "He died before he could finish. He had with him this dusty old book and the note. In the book was a map to the Shadow Gate and that small bit of history I read to you. The rest of the pages where blank. As for the note, it was unreadable. All of the words were smudged. I had a few experts analyze it, but they couldn't figure it out." He sighed and closed his eyes, awaiting their reaction.

"So, let me get this straight. A mysterious guy comes here and warns you about an attack on the Light Worlds-"

Koenma cut him off. "No, Yusuke, he was far from mysterious. In fact, who he was is the only reason I believe that what he said was true." His eyes darted to Kurama briefly. No one seemed to notice.

"Well, who was he?" Kuwabara prompted. This had really captured his attention and managed to hold it way more than school ever could.

"H-he was…" _What will their reactions be? _He absentmindedly wondered. "He was Shuichi Minamino." Everyone's eyes went wide and they all looked to Kurama, who was standing completely still. That _was_ rather shocking to him.

"How is that possible?" Yusuke turned back to Koenma, eyes still wide. _"How is that possible?" _he repeated. When Koenma said nothing, he growled out a warning. "Koenma…"

"Well, it wasn't exactly Shuichi Minamino." He answered hurriedly, not wanting to make Yusuke angry. "More, it was the Shadow Shuichi." No one moved or spoke. Koenma knew they must be contemplating this new bit of information.

Finally, "Shadow… Shuichi? Are there more of these shadow people?" Hiei asked, stoic mask still in face to hide his shock. Hell, everyone was in shock. But, as usual, Hiei wanted to mask his emotions.

"Yes, there are." He answered solemnly. "And if my theories are correct, then that means that not all of them are good. That the Shadow World is the opposite of the Light World so there will be opposite -shadow- people. This mission will be your toughest one yet. I advise you be careful of who you trust."

"So," Yusuke started. "We have to enter the Shadow Worlds, find these Iakier Rebels, _if_ they still exist, and defeat Amneok, the evil Shadow Worlds' ruler. …Okay, let's go. Come on, toddler; get Botan to open a portal! We need to go and save those youkai!" Ignoring the toddler remark, Koenma mentally sighed. He'd been sighing a lot today. _Oh, Yusuke… If only I could change history…_

"My, Yusuke, you sure seem determined. Why is that?" Kurama asked, chuckling at his eager behavior. Koenma looked to Yusuke, wondering if he would tell them the reason.

"Because…" Yusuke became strangely silent. He gritted his teeth balled his hands into fists, his nails digging into the palms of his hands and creating little half-moons. "Because, no one deserves to live like a slave. No one should have to be subjected to that. Not even a demon." Of course, he said it so quietly that Koenma and Kuwabara had to strain to hear it, only Hiei and Kurama's youkai hearing could pick it up without any problems. "Koenma, just… please open up a portal. I want to go and save them already." Koenma could see the blood that dripped from Yusuke's fists.

The toddler like ruler nodded, knowing exactly what Yusuke meant. "Botan, get in here!" Immediately, the giant doors to his office opened and in came the normally cheerful girl.

"Yes, Lord Koenma?" she asked, trying only half-heartedly to sound like her happy and bouncy self. She looked more forlorn than happy in any way. She had bags under her dulled eyes and her clothes were very ruffled -even ripped in some places- from running around doing things for him. He began to feel guilty.

"Botan, open up a portal," Koenma ordered, then added: "And when you're done you can take the rest of the day, and tomorrow, off." Botan perked up considerably at that. He jumped down, off his desk, and walked to Kurama while she happily complied. "Kurama, I am entrusting you with the map. You are, after all, the best when it comes to this sort of thing. Also, take this book and the note. They may come in handy. I don't know how but it's better safe than sorry." He handed Kurama said items then walked back to his desk. Botan, having opened the portal, left the room, wanting to go rest.

As the Reikai Tantai entered the portal Koenma called Yusuke back. He turned back, looking at him questioningly. "Yeah? What is it, pacifier breath?" Yusuke asked as he walked back to Koenma's desk. But, his cocky voice didn't match his solemn face. In fact, he could hear Yusuke's voice shaking.

"Yusuke," Koenma sighed. "Don't let your past get in the way of your mission. Don't act rashly." Yusuke frowned down at the demi-god. Even standing on his desk, which was what he was doing, Koenma was shorter than the spirit detective. Something dripped onto his cheek and his eyes widened in shock.

"Don't worry," his voice was low, close to whispering. He smiled sadly, slightly startling the already clearly shaken demi-god. "I'll try my best not to, okay? I mean, how bad can I fuck up?" He chuckled, though it held no humor. It was bitter. "See ya when I get back… Lord Koenma." Then, Yusuke turned his back on him and left, via portal.

Koenma looked at where the portal had been and sucked his pacifier worriedly. It had closed the moment Yusuke had gone through and exited safely on the other side. He was surprised and shocked. Yusuke always managed to do that but never like that before.. When he had looked into Yusuke's eyes… They were so lonely and sad. And he had said Lord Koenma. No crack about him being a toddler. No 'pacifier breath'. Lord Koenma. But, what shocked him the most was the other thing that he saw in Yusuke's eyes.

He saw… tears. Yusuke had been crying. He growled in frustration. Koenma hadn't wanted that. He didn't think Yusuke would react that strongly. Maybe, because of his past, he shouldn't have sent the spirit detective. It could hurt him even more. Perhaps he should have sent a different team for this mission? But, deep down, he knew that only Yusuke could do this. Only he would be strong enough to do it. Despite his past Koenma knew the spirit detective had the power to save the Shadow Worlds. He couldn't lose faith in him! _Yusuke can do it!_ He thought fiercely.

At least …he hoped Yusuke could.

_**+TBC+**_

A/N: So, did you like that? I'm debating about the pairings. Or if there should even _be _any. **_VOTE ON PAIRING! MUST BE SHOUNEN-AI! ANY SHOUNEN-AI PAIRING!_** Well, drop a review! Constructive criticism is very welcome! There's always room for improvement and I'm open to new ideas! I accept flames! I love to bitch at flamers! Well, bye!

Insomniac Jaki


	2. Chapter One: From The Dreams And Hiei

_Poll:_

HieixYusuke: 1

_VOTE PEOPLE! VOTE! SHOUNEN-AI! VOTE!_

_**+On The Other Side+**_

_**+Chapter One: From The Dreams And Hiei+**_

Hiei looked back at the raven-haired boy who was their team leader. His face showed no emotion –like always- but in his mind he was wondering what the baby had to say to Yusuke that the others couldn't hear. He could have easily used his Jagan to listen in. In fact, he tried, but there was some kind of magical barrier that prevented him from seeing into Koenma's office. It must have been something big for the baby to put up a barrier that blocked even the Jagan's power.

Or had that barrier always been there? He could not exactly recall ever sensing it before.

But, back to the matter at hand. Yusuke had seemed gloomy ever since he had stepped out of the portal into Makai. Yes, the Makai was a gloomy place, but not gloomy enough to make someone like Yusuke cry. Oh yes, he had seen the tears, but no one else had. Well, perhaps Kuwabara had seen them, but he couldn't be sure. All he knew was that Yusuke had stepped out of the portal and, after checking discreetly to see if anyone was looking, started to rub his eyes furiously with the sleeve of his green shirt. Of course, Hiei had witnessed this out of the corner of his eye.

Now, Kurama had the map, and was leading them to Kami-sama knew where, Kuwabara was looking around at the depressing scenery of one of Makai's largest forests, and Yusuke was walking at the back of the group, apparently deep in thought. Hiei was walking behind Kuwabara and in front of Yusuke. Suddenly, Kurama stopped, as did Kuwabara and the short koorime. The spirit detective, however, did not notice this, and crashed into Hiei's back.

"Watch where you're going, detective!" Hiei replied immediately, a natural reflex of his. He regretted it instantly. Said detective backed up, looking into the shorter man's eyes. Hiei froze as some unrecognizable emotion flitted through his eyes, but it was gone only a moment later.

"Sorry, Hiei, I wasn't paying attention." Ordinarily Hiei would have snorted at such a response, because since when has the spirit detective ever paid much attention? But now, he was worried, and he was unsure why. Was there something wrong with the normally cocky boy? _What did Koenma say to him? _His mind returned to that. _I'll kill that baby when we get back! _He suddenly thought. Unsure of why, though, he ignored it for now. Instead, he turned his attention to Kurama, who was speaking.

"Be careful," he was saying. "I can sense some demons, and they may not be friendly."

_How many?_ Hiei immediately wondered. Another reflex of his. He had to know how many he was up against and how strong they were. How much power he would need to defeat them. Spreading his senses out, he found several –maybe twenty in all- low class ookami youkai and one high-class kitsune youkai. He closed his eyes and under his white bandana his Jagan cracked open, and he looked through the trees to the east, where the power of the youkai resonated.

As soon as his suddenly blurry vision cleared the sight of a bloody battlefield greeted him. He could see the ookami closing in on a kitsune with five tails. Their fangs were bared and they were growling. Though the kitsune was powerful, it was also weak from battling. Apparently, from the sight of all the dead ookami bodies, it had been battling alone, and it's powers were surely diminished.

Hiei's Jagan eye closed and he looked to the other members of the little ragtag team. They were all staring at him expectantly. "Twenty low class ookami youkai surrounding a weakened, high-class, five-tailed kitsune youkai." He answered their unasked question coolly. "East, about half a mile." With the newly supplied information they took off; Hiei in front, followed by Yusuke, who somehow managed to keep up with Hiei's demonic speed, then Kurama, with Kuwabara by his side.

They reached the site of battle in virtually no time at all. They saw that two ookami youkai were standing away from the battle, watching it quietly. _I must not have noticed them. _Hiei assured himself, somewhat miffed that he had missed them. From what he could sense, they were not much stronger than the rest of the pack. They should have been easy to pick up. But, for know, he took to ignoring them as he launched himself straight at the tight circle that had formed around the fox.

Drawing his katana, Hiei struck at every ookami that dared to oppose him. Blood splattered his black clothes and face and dripped from his weapon as he cut through each enemy. At one point, an ookami managed to slash at his face. He was hit on the cheek and, while the unusual pain temporarily blinded him, it pinned him down, about to take a chunk out off his neck with it's huge canines.

Luckily, before it could do any damage, it was thrown off him by Kurama, who quickly killed it with his Rose Whip. "Are you alright, Hiei?" Kurama asked concernedly, peering down at him. Hiei only nodded, not bothering to say that he could have handled the weak youkai. However, as he struggled to stand, he discovered one very important fact.

"Fox, I can't move!"

Kurama stared down at him in shock. Hiei mentally cursed himself for allowing some of his panic to seep into his voice. As he stared at Kurama, who was deep in thought, he noticed another ookami behind the oblivious redhead. The youkai had a claw raised, about to rip through Kurama's neck. Hiei was about to call out, to warm Kurama, but Yusuke came to the rescue.

"Spirit Gun!" The blast shot from the raven-haired boy's index finger and hit the ookami in the side. It let out a final earsplitting howl of pain and disintegrated, leaving behind no trace that it had been there.

"Thank you, Yusuke. You saved us." Kurama thanked, smiling gratefully. Yusuke nodded in acknowledgment.

"No problem! Any time!" Then he looked around, as if searching for something. Hiei, too, allowed his eyes to roam. All of the ookami were dead, that was evident enough by the blood and bodies. The battle had been won easily and no one was fatally injured. "Hey, where's Kuwabara?" Yusuke suddenly asked.

"I believe he is with the kitsune." Kurama supplied. And, as he said, Kuwabara was, indeed, with said youkai they had saved. He was crouched over it, back to them so they could not see what he was doing.

"Hey, Hiei, what happened to you? Why are you still lying on the ground?" Yusuke said, looking down at him.

Hiei growled and responded: "I can't move."

"The ookami's claws had a paralyzing poison on them." They all looked to Kuwabara, who walked toward them while explaining. "That's why he can't move. When Hiei was hit by one of their claws the poison entered into his bloodstream. He probably won't be able to move for at least twenty-four hours, maybe longer, maybe not. It all depends on how much got in him."

"Wow, I'm amazed." Kurama said. "How did you know that?"

Kuwabara grinned and said, "Yukina! She taught me a few things about poison and gave me a book on the different kinds and their antidotes."

"Okay, so what is the antidote for Hiei? What do we have to do?" Kurama asked.

Kuwabara's grin turned into a frown. "Well, there is no antidote. You have to wait it out."

"And how long is this going to take, again?" Yusuke asked. He was frowning too. He was probably impatient with the delay.

"Well… it really depends on how much poison got in him, like I said," he explained. "But, judging by how it's only a small scratch, I'd say about fourteen hours at the very least."

Yusuke groaned while Hiei mentally growled at his situation. If he was stuck like this for fourteen hours there's no telling what could attack in that time. The Makai is full of youkai just itching to tear into anything that breathes. He wouldn't be able to defend himself. Also, many youkai would just love to gloat about how they killed him. After all, Hiei is one of the most powerful youkai out there. So, it's easy to understand how pissed he was. He shot a glare promising death at Kuwabara, as if it were his fault that there was no immediate cure for the paralysis.

"Well, we better find somewhere to camp," Yusuke said suddenly, breaking the silence that had descended upon them. "I don't know about you guys, but I really don't enjoy the smell of rotting corpses." He smirked slightly. It was true. The setting Makai sun was already heating the flesh of the dead ookami, causing waves of a nauseating smell to rise from them and cover the area.

"What about the kitsune?" Kurama asked. Hiei looked toward the kitsune and, for the first time, Hiei got a good look at it. It had a beautiful black coat while the tip of it's ears were white, as were the tip of it's five tails and it's paws.

"Sorry, guys. She didn't quite make it. She died a few minutes after I finally got to her." Kuwabara supplied. _So it was a she._ Hiei absently noted. _What a pity. We wasted all that time and energy only to find that she died and I got paralyzed. _Hiei mentally sighed in annoyance.

"Okay, so let's find a place to stop for the night." Yusuke said as he walked toward Hiei. Hiei would have slapped away the other's hand if he could, but of course he couldn't so he settled for growling again.

"Don't worry, I'm only gonna carry you." Yusuke reassured him. He knew how much the koorime hated being vulnerable. And that's exactly what he was at the moment; vulnerable. So Hiei allowed Yusuke to pick him up and put him on his back. He wrapped Hiei's arms around his neck and held his legs while his head rested on Yusuke's shoulder.

Faintly, Hiei could smell the sweet aroma much like the one of a vanilla candle. It covered up the scent of rotting corpses, and for that Hiei was grateful. Only after a few minutes of walking did he finally realize that the lovely vanilla smell was coming from the young man whose back we was on. _It must be his natural scent._ He concluded. Everyone had a natural scent that was his or hers, and his or hers alone.

Know that he thought about it, he could name all of their scents. Kurama's was roses; fitting because he loves roses: Kuwbara's was something like the smell of the ocean; confusing because as far as he knew Kuwabara never visits the beach or anywhere like that: and Yusuke's was a sweet vanilla. His own natural scent was strawberries; _very_ confusing because he hardly ever ate strawberries… Well, except for his favorite Sweet Snow flavor, strawberry.

Hiei finally came out of his musings when he felt his back touch the hard ground. They were finally far enough away so that the smell of corpses couldn't bother them anymore. Kurama gave Yusuke instructions and Kuwabara a bucket and instructions before digging through the backpack he brought. Kurama was the only one who thought ahead of time to bring a few supplies. When Yusuke got back he had an armful of sticks. Kuwabara came back with a bucket of water.

Kurama immediately set about making some Ramem. He boiled the water and poured it into the small cups the Instant Ramen came in. Then they all ate, except for Hiei, who refused to take anything in his state of immobility. This sucked for him 'cause Ramen rocks.

* * *

Crimson eyes snapped open in the dark and Hiei blinked, allowing his eyes time to adjust to the darkness. Being a youkai really came in handy because as soon as his eyes adjusted his youkai powers kicked in and he could see through the gloomy darkness that covered him just as if it were day. He couldn't be sure what awoke him. Perhaps it was the silence. Perhaps it was someone's snoring. Or perhaps it was the ceaseless whimpering that came from his right.

Experimentally, he shook his head, finding that for the most part he could move it. The poison still hadn't worn off, though, so other parts of his body couldn't move. Hiei turned his head and, to his surprise, found Yusuke lying next to him, asleep and whimpering. He looked at Yusuke's face, which was facing him, and watched as it became contorted with pain that must be in his dreams. Or nightmares. His lips were moving but no sound came out and he whimpered some more.

Hiei, taking pity on him, called to him in an uncharacteristically soft voice. "Yusuke! Wake up! Yusuke!" Finally, when he wouldn't wake up and the smell of fear on him became even stronger, he snapped, "_Detective, wake up!_" And he finally saw said detective open his chocolate eyes and shoot up into a sitting position while looking around wildly, his hair sticking out at odd angles with no hair gel to keep it tame. "Detective, stop your whimpering." Hiei said, sounding harsher than he meant to. On the contrary, he was quite relieved. The waves of rear rolling off Yusuke had been intoxicating so when he woke up it had been a relief. And, in the back of his mind, something said that he was worried about the raven-haired detective, though he snorted at the thought of him being worried about Yusuke.

"Wha…? Oh, Hiei," Hiei could see Yusuke blush in the darkness. "Sorry, I was having a bad dream. That's all." He lay back down and closed his eyes, as if going back to sleep. However, even then, the short koorime knew that the man next to him was wide-awake.

Then, a sudden nagging curiosity began gnawing at the back of his mind. It started small, then grew, becoming like an itch that you can't quite reach to scratch. Finally, it overwhelmed Hiei, and that usually never happens. Just to satisfy it he turned his head toward Yusuke, who was still awake, and asked quietly, "What did you dream about?" At fist, when he didn't reply, he thought that he must not of heard, and he was about to turn back, when Yusuke finally spoke.

"It was about... something that I just remembered. It was… about one time, when I was like five or something, we, me and my mom, were walking somewhere when, while my mom was looking through the window of some shop, I walked out into the road, to cross it. I remember that my mom grabbed me at the last second and pulled me out of the way of a car." And through all of that, Hiei could sense that Yusuke was lying. That every word he said was a complete lie. _What is he hiding? _Hiei wondered.

When Yusuke finished Hiei voiced his thoughts. "You're lying." In the darkness Hiei could see Yusuke's slightlydumbstruck face.

Yusuke sighed and looked away from Hiei. "Yeah, I am lying, but I don't want to tell you what it was about." Yusukeconfessed, still looking the other way. "It's kind of… painful,I guess.Oh, and Hiei? Promise me you won't use your Jagan to find out, okay?" Now he was looking back at him and, even though Yusuke couldn't see in the darkness, he was staring Hiei straight in the eyes. The look was so intense Hiei thought it could almost rival his own. _Almost._ Hiei felt himself getting lost in those intense chocolate eyes, but Yusuke's voice as he continued drew him back. "I mean it Hiei, promise you won't."

Hiei could detect a hint of pleading in Yusuke's voice and eyes and sighed. Then, he agreed. "Fine," –he sounded almost like a child who had agreed grudgingly to clean his room- "I promise Iwon't read your mind. Besides, I'm sure there's nothing of interest in there -full of some mediocre things that would only pollute my own." Whoops, that wasn't supposed to slip out. Another defensive reflex to hide that he had actually sounded disappointed. He regretted it instantly, and waited for the verbal lashing that was sure to follow... And waited... And waited... And waited...

But none came.

As he looked questioningly at Yusuke, he could see that he had gone rigid, his face a stoic mask. No emotion showed onhis normallygrinning face.Then, he rolled over, away from the koorime, so Hiei had a good view of the other's back. But Hiei had seen Yusuke's eyes before he had moved, and only now did he understand what that unknown thing in his eyes before was. It was regret, betrayel, and sorrow. Hiei had no idea what it meant. He could feel something in his stomach, or maybe his heart, clench, but he ignored it. He had never seen Yusuke like that, and, in a way, it scared him. He closed his eyes, deep in thought. But, before long, he had drifted off. Off into a sleep plauged with dream of a certain spirit detective.

+TBC+

A/N: There it is, Chapter One of "OTOS" What do you think? Yeah, it sucked. Not enough angst.Sorry, it's been slow aroundhere. I've started taking guitar lessons from my brother in-law. Anyways, **_VOTE ON PAIRING! MUST BE SHOUNEN-AI! ANY AND ALL SHOUNEN-AI PAIRINGS! _**Well, please leave a review! I accept flames! I love to bitch at flamers! Well, bye!

Insomniac Jaki


	3. To The Shadow Gate And From Kurama

_Poll:_

HieiXYusuke: 7

KuramaXYusuke: 1

_Did I forget to mention that you can vote on other pairings as well, not just one main one? Right, well, you can! Anyway, on to my regular message! **VOTE! ALL SHOUNEN-AI PAIRINGS WELCOME! VOTE PEOPLE! VOTE!**_

_**+On The Other Side+**_

_**+Chapter Two: To The Shadow Gate And From Kurama+**_

Kurama smiled as Yusuke tried desperately to get his raven locks out of his eyes using the water from the river. Of course, it wasn't working, and Yusuke looked a little pissed off. Three days had passed since they had left Koenma's office for this mission. The paralyzing poison had finally worn off of Hiei and they had moved on toward the Shadow Gate again. However, it seemed that Yusuke's hair-gel had finally run out. Now he was trying to get his hair to stay out of his eyes.

"Give it up, it's not working." Kuwabara finally told him. Yusuke growled in frustration.

"Damn it! Where's some hair-gel when you need it!" Kuwabara laughed at him. Kurama looked up into the tree he was leaning and spotted Hiei. He was looking down at Yusuke intently, unmoving.

_-A penny for your thoughts?-_ he asked in the telepathic message he sent Hiei. The short man in the tree made no sign that he had received it, but replied promptly.

_+Does the detective seem… different to you+_ Kurama was momentarily startled, and looked from Hiei -who was still staring at Yusuke- to said detective.

_-No. Why?-_ Kurama stared back up at Hiei, who had finally looked down into his eyes.

_+He's been acting… very strangely. It doesn't matter. He just seemed a bit distracted. Just keep an eye on him.+_

Kurama nodded, looking back to Yusuke -he had finally given up on his hair and he and Kuwabara were fighting. _-Right.-_ When he looked back up, Hiei was gone from the tree. Finally, he walked to Yusuke and Kuwabara and pulled them away from each other, smiling at their antics. They had gone to making faces at each other. "Time to go, now."

Yusuke nodded and saluted. "Lead the way, Oh Great Holder Of The Sacred Map!" Kuwabara slapped him on the back of the head, and Yusuke retaliated by bopping him on the head.

"Alright, come on you two. This is no time to be joking around. We're almost to the Shadow Gate. No more fighting!" When they had stopped Kurama motioned for them to follow. Then, as they left the clearing, Hiei jumped down from a tree and joined them. And so, they tramped through the deep forests of the Makai, searching for the elusive Shadow Gate. The map seemed to become increasingly hard to follow, though. Yesterday it had led them through a swamp, where Hiei got caught in some quicksand, of all things.

Now, though, it seemed that the map was about to lead them into a cave. Nevertheless, as they approached it, Kurama didn't hesitate in entering it. After all, if they were to find the Shadow Gate, they were going to have to trust the map. But, Kurama was sometimes suspicious of it. _What if this leads us into something we can't handle?_ He had thought once. Then, _What if this doesn't even lead to the Shadow Gate?_ Nevertheless, they continued on anyways.

The cave they had entered had a low ceiling, and Kuwabara had to duck slightly to keep from bumping his head. The walls of the cave were dry, free of any moisture, and on the ground were thousands of bones. They crunched underfoot as they walked, and Kurama's curiosity grew. Somewhere in the back of his head, Youko stirred in his sleep, but didn't quite wake.

As they walked, the tunnel they were in shifted, going down, deeper into the ground. They traveled on, and, in the dim light of some unknown item, he could see Yusuke shiver from the corner of his eye. Then he felt Hiei's stare on his back. _+You see+_

Kurama sighed. _-He only shivered because it's cold.-_

_+He shivered _before_ it became cold.+_ Then, like that, their conversation -if you could even call it that- was over and Hiei had severed the mind link. Kurama sighed again, but agreed with him. Only after Yusuke shivered did it become cold. _Maybe he's … scared? No. Yusuke's strong. A little cave wouldn't scare him. But, then what would cause him to shiver like that?_

But, his musings were cut short as he saw a light ahead of them. They continued on, faster, until they reached it. When they could finally see in the suddenly bright light he knew were it was coming from. There, in the middle of a large cavern, was a circle on the floor. From it, a brilliant yellow glow came forth. "That's the Shadow Gate." Yusuke said next to him. And something about Yusuke's words struck him as odd. As if he knew, without a doubt, that this was it. But, as he looked at the map that was entrusted to him, he knew it, too. The directions stopped here.

Along the walls of the cavern were drawings and carvings of youkai. Each one was intricately carved, almost life-like, and they seemed to move together in one writhing mass. They walked forward, from the safety of the tunnel into the cavern, and approached the Shadow Gate. When they were close enough they could see it was like a giant bowl in the ground. In it was a purple-black liquid, the colors seemed to fight for dominance, and the yellow glow continually poured forth.

"So, now what?" Kuwabara was the first one to speak, shattering the silence.

"I think we're supposed to jump in it." Yusuke said, looking at the walls rather than the portal.

"Then let's get this over with." Hiei stepped forward, to the edge of the Gate, and prepared to leap in. Then the ground began the shake. It was so sudden, Hiei lost his footing, but Yusuke grabbed his arm and pulled him away from it. The ground continued shaking, and the walls suddenly _were_ writhing, coming alive with the youkai carvings. The youkai stepped from the walls of the cavern and, one-by-one, attacked them, apparently intent on keeping them from entering the Gate.

Kurama pulled from his hair a rose and, with a little spirit energy, it grew into his Rose Whip. He jumped at a youkai that was coming at Kuwabara from behind and sliced it apart. Then he turned and lashed out at an ugly bird youkai that was circling his head. It's wing was hit and it went spiraling, it's beak impaling another, larger youkai's, eye. The youkai, which only had one eye, roared and lashed out at anything near it, crushing several of the others youkai it was fighting with.

Kurama smirked as at least half of the youkai were wiped out from the one rampaging Cyclops. Then he heard a scream. Turning, he saw that Yusuke was caught in a net and being dragged away by a big, purple-skinned fish youkai in flowing blue robes. Yusuke struggled and shouted out several curses.

"Yusuke!" Kurama called, rushing to his aid. The young, raven-haired man didn't appear to hear him, as he was too busy yelling at the youkai dragging him. On the other side of the room, opposite of the place where they had entered, was another tunnel that he had neglected to notice. The fish was dragging Yusuke toward it, where a shadowy figure awaited it and Yusuke.

As he got closer, he saw Yusuke point his finger at the fish's head. The tip of it glowed a light blue, and he shot at his captor. It blew the youkai's head off and the net fell from it's limp hand. Yusuke struggled to get out, but the net appeared to be completely sealed up. Kurama reached his side and, giving no warning at all, sliced at the net with his Rose Whip. It ripped easily under the whip's thorns, and fell to pieces around Yusuke.

Said detective grinned, obviously happy to be free from the small net. "Thanks a lot, but, next time, think you could give me a warning before slicing away like that?" Kurama smiled back at him briefly before remembering the shadowy figure in the tunnel entrance. He looked toward it and he could see Yusuke follow his gaze. The figure was still there, but it backed away slightly, becoming a barely defined blob in the dark tunnel.

They rushed toward the tunnel and the person -maybe a youkai- glowed slightly. Then, without warning, it lunged out of the safety of the tunnel and ran past them. They turned, just in time to see it jump into the watery depths of the Shadow Gate. They began to run back to the Shadow Gate, through the crowd of youkai that were determined to kill them. They reached the edge of it and looked around. Kuwabara was doing fine, holding off the youkai with his spirit sword, and Hiei, was slicing through them left and right with his katana.

Hiei jumped away from the fighting discreetly -the youkai were left wondering were their victim had gone- and joined Kurama and Yusuke. "There's too many, we have to go through the gate!" Kurama yelled over the noise of the youkai.

"Kuwabara! Come on!" Yusuke called to his friend. Kuwabara nodded and ran from the youkai, who followed him at a much slower pace. When he reached them Yusuke said: "On three! Ready?" Nods. "THREE!"

They jumped out over the gate and fell into it. Kurama heard no splash as they hit the surface of the liquid; they just slipped in smoothly and quietly. All he could see was darkness. Then, with a jolt, it felt as if all the air in his lungs was being squeezed out painfully. His whole body seemed to scream in pain, as if the water were filling him then acting as a poison that only caused pain. From somewhere he heard a scream, only to realize it was his own. Then he heard another, and another. He recognized those as the voices of Hiei and Kuwabara.

And, finally, as the pain grew unbearable, darkness consumed him, and he knew no more…

_**+TBC+**_

A/N: There it finally is! Is it good? I enjoyed typing it! I've been so busy lately, so I hope it's worthy. Please leave me a review! I accept flames; I love to bitch at the flamers! XD Well, bye!

Insomniac Jaki


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